Over the years, English cricketers have found it very perplexing to allot their full commitment towards the Indian Premier League. England’s top-drawer T20 stars are seldom been announced unavailable for India’s cash-rich league due to their national duty commitments. Nevertheless, the situation is not the same this time as England Cricket Board (ECB) has made IPL 2021 their top priority keeping the upcoming T20 World Cup later this year in mind.

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IPL 2021: English players to miss national duty

As reported by ESPNCricinfo, the star-trio of Ben Stokes, Jos Butler and Jofra Archer will be asked to feature for Rajasthan Royals instead of playing against New Zealand in the 2-match Test series in June. The following English players will anyhow feature for their side in the knockout stages of IPL 14. The same goes for players like Chris Woakes (Delhi Capitals), Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings) and Jonny Bairstow (Sunrisers Hyderabad) could be unavailable for international duty if their respective franchises reach the playoffs of IPL 2021.

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English players like Moeen Ali and Mark Wood will go under the hammer today (February 18) in the mini IPL auction. Even these players will be ruled out of the Test series if they get picked by any of the 8 teams in the auction. England will face New Zealand in a two-match Test series between June 02 to 14. The schedule for this year’s IPL has not been finalised yet, however, it is expected to take place somewhere around early April to the first week of June.

The ECB has made one particular request to the IPL franchises in relation to their players via an e-mail. “In the event of ECB Selectors wishing to select a player for the 1st Test v New Zealand whose franchise has made it through to the knockout stages of the Tournament, but who is not featuring in the starting XI, the relevant franchise is requested to release such player early so that they can participate in the Test Match,” the email read.

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